if you suffer from severe throbbing pain on one side of your head with nausea,vomiting,dislike for light or sound and which lasts for few hours to a day and after which you feel exhausted or drained out  then you have migraine. It usually run in families. Migraine attacks may start during school age and persist till adulthood. It is more common in women. The frequency of attacks varies from person to person.  The common triggers for migraine are lack of sleep, fasting, low water intake, excessive stress or fatigue, over exposure to sunlight, chocolates, cheese and junk food.   Avoiding these triggers may protect you from migraine attack.

To abort an acute attack you may take analgesics alone or in combination with tryptans either oral or injectable. Try to sleep in dark environment although difficult. But remember that too frequent use of analgesics may worsen your migraine. Long term treatment (preventive) is given for 3-5 months to those who have frequent attacks. Some serious brain conditions may mimic migraine, hence don’t self medicate and take treatment under proper medical supervision.

Drinking plenty of water, avoiding junk food, proper rest and exercise, learn to release stress and refrain from analgesic abuse are some of the ways you can prevent migraine.

Remember that migraine is not a disease but just a headache. Although it is worse then any disease for the sufferers. But avoiding triggers and adopting simple measures along with proper treatment can keep you headache free.